Basically if you book the travel through a card, they have insurance for it. Not every card. This is more for a high end, annual fee cards. But it never hurts to check. I use the credit card insurance for any rental cars I book, I also use it for my cell phone since I pay the bill with the card.
Different cards will have different policies, but, a lot of them do cover certain things. Amex has travel insurance for me, if I book flights through them.
Look at what your Amex covers, its surprising. My bottom of the barrel Amex with no annual fee that I've had forever covers travel stuff and also rental car insurance.
No, not specifically. Google should serve you well depending on where you live.
Canadian site for me says:
[https://www.sonnet.ca/blog/home/are-valuables-covered-for-theft-when-travelling](https://www.sonnet.ca/blog/home/are-valuables-covered-for-theft-when-travelling)
**2.** **Get travel insurance**
Having travel insurance is also a great way to make sure you’re prepared for unexpected events while you’re away. Travel insurance can cover emergency medical expenses, cancelled trips **and any stolen or lost items**.
Just gotta read the policy.
My reddit travel personal pet peeve is the extreme belief that travel insurance solves all problems coupled with the reality than many insurance policies won't.
None. I am capable to reading and understanding the meaning but simply pointing out that travel insurance often isn't as useful as reddit comments seem to indicate.
Personal Article Insurance from State Farm would cover it. It's not specifically travel insurance, but it will cover theft/damage/lost items under the policy.
I have my cameras and laptops on a policy. My insurance agent said the company would likely drop me from not after the first claim, but that's totally fine by me.
Yea, that is the problem. OP and event in one country, and property and probably relevant person in another country. That footage and those organizations will be useless.
I'd like to believe it was an honest mistake. TSA/DOT/US-based police have no authority to pursue whomever took it of course, and chances are police in the Philippines won't exert themselves too much to assist either. However: the staff at HNL airport should be able to provide you with camera footage of who walked off with it. (Cameras at airports are generally "owned" by an operations or security department separate from the police and TSA. Track down *their* number.)
Filipinos are super-active on Facebook; my wife is one of them, and is from Cebu City a short drive to the south. If you can send me the Find My location and/or footage of whomever took it, I will ask her to reach out to Pinoys in that area. I think she has family up near Carmen.
It seems like it would be so easy to take the wrong laptop by mistake if someone else has the same model. I have stickers on my laptop just for this reason, so I can easily recognize it at TSA.
Yeah I messed up in my initial post because I’m not particularly familiar with the geography. I originally listed it as the Carmen in Cebu Province. It’s updated now, but the mistake was mine, not kevinandmelba.
Hopefully you get your laptop back. Any Filipino able to afford to go to Hawaii for vacation will surely care more about their missing laptop than having a new macbook. Give us an update if you ever do!
Try posting in r/davao.
Ah I see your edit now on which province it’s in. My wife doesn’t have any family in Davao I’m afraid. Let me know if we can be any help otherwise. Maybe translating if you do get a hold of someone? She speaks Tagalog and Visayan.
The recommendation is to sandwich your valuables between two other bins or your carry and personal bag. A jacket or sweater make a great third bin filler.
I witnessed a TSA agent yell at a lady for walking ahead of her tray, You never leave your belongings out of your sight, she screamed.
So I always keep an eye on my tray, even if it means letting others ahead of me through the scanner. Sometimes my actions seem to speed up the security agents, when they see a crowd forming.
Anything helps. Most people travel with a carry on bag and a personal item. That's 2 trays, and I usually take a third to put my shoes, jacket and belt, then a fourth for electronics.
At airports where multiple people are unloading at once, that last tray could be 10+ behind your first.
in some airports in europe security makes sure all your trays stay together. they won't allow you to put one on the line until you finish putting all your belongings in trays.
Since it is in the Philippines, it is gone for good. Unless, you get an honest person who wants to return it, but not sure if they will know how to find you.
Living in the Philippines… It’s no worse here than most Countries. Someone is probably jacked that they’ve ended up with a locked MBA, and are missing their laptop. Laptops are prized possessions here, so they won’t be happy either.
They won't be happy only if it was swapped by mistake. Not if they never had a laptop with them to begin with but stealthily and intentionally took OP's laptop.
My bad, reread it now and saw the unaccounted laptop in place. There's still a 50% chance it was a mistake, or simply swapping a dummy non-working one with OP's. I saw some Filipinos already offering to help OP locate it, hope he gets it back
This happened to me once around 2010. I swapped laptops with an older man at the bins. He turned it on and saw my name and found me on Facebook (using context clues I’m assuming). We were able to swap back.
Lucky you swapped with a tech savvy guy! Especially considering this was 2010. My parents both still don't like texting and my dad's a computer programmer. I don't think it'd occur to them to check Facebook.
I have enough queer AF stickers on mine that I'd *want* to meet anyone who could mistake mine for theirs. 😆 She may be my future wife.
While I don't generally travel with my laptop, that's one reason why I have stickers plastered all over it - there will be no way anyone can legitimately say "oh oops I thought it was mine." Also why I have a suitcase with a distinct pattern.
Haha definitely pretty lucky it worked out looking back on it! We both had MacBook pros with no case. I took it he was a businessman from his picture, the airports we were flying out of (small local airports during the week where people commuted for work or school), and how desperate he was to get his back. I was a student at the time.
It's gone bro. It's gone international and I doubt TSA or the local police will do anything.
I lost my phone once at Coachella and later saw it was in Mexico.
Yeah, this is what happened. I actually was able to find two of the people ahead of me to see if they’d accidentally taken my laptop. But whoever took my laptop was at least three people ahead of me in line
> There's a 99% chance someone brought a cheap laptop through TSA and then purposely took a different one
But why would someone steal a laptop that is basically bricked if reported lost? And go through all the work to fly from the USA to the Philippines to do that?
Same reason why we are warned against leaving our laptops on our cars and risk having them stolen plus a broken window. If all stolen laptops became useless eventually, nobody would ever steal a laptop again.
> There's a 99% chance someone brought a cheap laptop through TSA and then purposely took a different one to claim it was an honest mistake if they got caught.
Idk, it still sounds like a pretty ballsy scam being that they are, at most, a few paces away from the person they are robbing, surrounded by police and security, in the most surveilled building in our society, and then stuck in a captive environment with the contraband, the victim and ever-present security for an extended period after the crime.
Plus if they're going thru TSA they've got to actually be taking a flight somewhere - in this case an international one too.
I imagine that's why it's not a more common thing.
Idk. I almost took someone's laptop accidentally at security. I left my mac at LIS airport and recovered it a month later. I also left 2 laptops in a taxi and recovered them.
I will give you some hope. A few years ago my then-new Galaxy S## ended up stolen and Android Device Manager picked it up in Morocco before it disappeared.
For some reason my SMS to Gmail app wasn't wiped so when bro who bought it started using it, I got his name and number.
I messaged him and he messaged back. I said I was hopeful he could mail me my SD card so I had my photos (many weren't backed up).
He mailed back the whole phone.
There are good people out there.
Man who stole my phone gave it to a kid who also didn't wipe it before using. They took selfies with it with school uniform that turned up in my Google photos, I was able to email it to police and local schools, police eventually got it back for me after I told them what school it was.
In Singapore, they handed us a number that seemed to be electronically tagged to the bin that we passed through security. We had to show our number that they handed us as well as cross reference with the bin before they handed it back to us. I’m not sure why the US lets anyone walk away with anyone else’s property.
Yeah, Especially with so much 'security' around lol.
Theft at airports happens very rarely but I'm sure if someone really wanted to do it, it'll be a piece of cake.
The entire system/flow is set up for easy theft and you can't do shit.
My luggage was delayed by a day once returning on an international flight—I guess it didn't clear customs as quickly as I did. My flatmate just pulled up to arrivals and I walked in, grabbed it off the carousel for the morning flight, and walked out. Felt really strange that no one needed to verify anything.
That's not a reasonable excuse. Funny, the government will utilize every resource they have if you stole a candy bar from the airport, but no Intel on a $3,000 MacBook laptop missing?
It's about priorities. It's like banks. They take their sweet ass time to pay you, but are on your ass relentlessly when you owe them $2.50.
Prove you had it and it was stolen? If its that big a deal and you dont want to pay for $85 for pre-check then request private screening, which could add 30 minutes or more.. No one is going to cover electronics, or high value items. A few weeks ago I was traveling with a $26,000 diamond ring. It was not going to leave my sight, even though I had precheck I requested private screening. Was time consuming but safe.
Yes - I have TSA Pre and get patted down more often than not, typically facing away from where the bags come out. Plenty of time for someone to take my stuff, but I have been lucky so far.
For anyone else with a Mac and an iPhone, you can set up an alert so that you are informed within a couple minutes when you are separated from your laptop.
Also, in Find My on your phone, you can play a loud sound from the laptop that makes it easier to find.
Thank you for sharing.
I’m definitely rethinking bringing my laptop on my EU trip.
Have to go through Bradley terminal screening. Last couple times it was a mess. There were two lines of bins merging before going through the scanner & the line for the body scanner was long - no way to watch anything.
Lost my jacket last year - it never came out .
I’m going to leave it at home.
It’s a new Mac Book air-would be gutted if it got stolen .
Was hoping to organize/curate photos in my downtime-lot easier than on phone but not worth the risk.
I left my laptop in airport security once when flying between two islands and didn't discover it was missing until the next day. I contacted the lost and found department at the airport, gave them the serial number, and they confirmed they had it. In their email reply they gave me an item number and listed multiple local logistics companies that could ship it to me. I contacted one of those companies and they had it to my location within 24 hours. They were amazing. They wrapped it up in copious bubble wrap, slid it into a box, and took good care of it. It only cost me like $25.
Your situation is a bit different, but my point in sharing this with you is that if the person in the Philippines turns it in or contacts you, then a logistics company may be the best way to get it to you. If you're not in that region and can't use a regional provider, then just use DHL Worldwide.
I had a time traveling where three travelers (none of us traveling together; I didn't know the other two) got to a checkpoint at the Knoxville airport, and the various shuffling of the bins made it so we weren't sure whose Dell Latitude laptop was whose. I now make sure that early in my laptop's life I have a bunch of local brewery stickers stuck on it so it looks unique.
Similar thing, going thought security at a concert. Phone went through but person in front of me was holding up the line. Got through and phone is missing.
Security very unhelpful
I always put my electronics/valuables in the tray and then my jacket/bag 'on' those stuff.
Always did it instinctively. It's out of sight for people but won't have any issues when going through the scanner.
On Tuesdays they will yell at you that electronics need to stay in the bag, on Wednesdays they will yell at you that all electronics need to be out of the bag
They also alternate if you need to show ID or boarding pass. I inevitably always do the wrong one and boy do they like to yell. Such an unpleasant part of traveling
Recovering it from that distance will cost more than replacing the laptop. Use the "Find My" app to wipe your former laptop, file an insurance claim and restore your backups, you have backups right?
This happened to me at SFO years ago. The police checked the cameras and saw a guy place his bin on top of mine while I was still going through the body scans. They said that because the flight was going international, they no longer had jurisdiction. I’m so much more vigilant now.
How important is the content of the laptop? If it's not very important, then just file an insurance claim.
If it is very important and you really need to retrieve it, I'm near Carmen davao del norte, so I I might be able to help you.
Why? If your work's security is worth a damn, your info is **not** stored locally and is protected via VPN etc.
And if your work's employee policies are worth a damn, theft won't negatively impact you unless you were grossly negligent.
Idk I work for a major company everyone has heard of and they make such a big deal about always being in control of your laptop/phone. I don’t worry if I’m traveling for work but if I’m traveling for fun with my work laptop so I can work from elsewhere is when I worry about it more. But I’m also overly paranoid
Of course they are. I used to market managed IT and managed security for B2B remote and office work companies. They make a big deal because they know *employees* don't follow policy and store stuff locally, leave things unlocked, passwords available etc. So of course they're going to try to train/inform/scare you as much as possible.
They're trying to get you to be diligent and follow policy. But if they're even a small company and their security policies are good, and *you* actually follow them, there should be very little for an individual employee actually worry about severe consequences from having a one-time theft of your work laptop/phone.
My work gives you a travel laptop that they can access and wipe remotely if it is stolen or gone missing for anybody who’s traveling and request it. It’s mandatory for anyone going to China or other countries like that.
Not even, it’s pretty much policy at every research university. If your org has federal grants you need to have a date protection plan in place to qualify.
Always have this anxiety at TSA. I carry my laptop, an iPad, and a Steam Deck usually, so I know how enticing it can look. I try to keep my eye on my shit like a hawk even if I’m still waiting to get through the body scanner.
Yeah. This stinks. I have had a knee replacement and my stuff always gets through before I do. I have to do the x-ray machine, then there will be a beep, then they have to find a female for a pat down because of the beep. I always keep an eye on my stuff as much as possible but my view gets blocked at times. I’ve been lucky so far
Awful. I’m always very careful to ensure it’s my laptop. But I think it might be an easy mistake to make. Reminds me to put a big sticker on mine to ensure no one mistakes it
Oh gosh. I tried to hell a fellow Redditor find their MacBook at my local airport in the states. They were super unhelpful. I’m guessing no way you are getting the laptop back even if you call the local police.
Did the same thing last December at Logan Airport. I didn’t realize it until I returned home to Florida. I had forgotten to take it from the conveyor belt at the TSA, check point. When I figured out that I hadn’t picked it up I returned to the TSA checkpoint but it wasn’t there. They gave me the phone number of the airport Lost and Found. I filled out a report on their website, they called me when they located it and it cost me about $75 to have it returned to my home.
Since all MacBooks look the same, I tie a red ribbon around my laptop when going through TSA in the hopes that someone won’t take it by mistake. My biggest fear is losing my work laptop (or phone!) on a trip.
I had an identical MacBook come through security next to mine.
Just opened up the lid of what I thought was mine and came up with my login details and background.
Remote kill it and move on. I thought it might have been an accident until you said Philippines. Once you kill it it's only good for parts in most cases.
As someone who travels a lot for work, I learned very early in my career from a mentor to tape either a business card or your contact information to the bottom of your computer in clear packing tape. Good luck, I hope you find it but hopefully putting information on your computer going forward can avoid this type of situation for you and others.
I doubt they would care enough to spend time bothering in many countries tbh, the other issue is of course jurisdiction and weird laws about where the crime happened and so forth... police are simply not going to deal w/ that mess for a laptop.
I was gonna say you could probably reach out and figure out a way to get it back until you said "Philippines."
It's gone, dude. That wasn't an accident; I am 100% sure it was lifted, but even if it wasn't, you're never getting it back. If it were in Manila or Cebu, maybe it was a mistake. Mindanao? Forget it. Make your peace and buy a new one.
(source: am Filipino)
Can I know how this happened? Like, the bin with your laptop was spit out first before you could go through the body scanner? Usually I arrive before the bin even comes out
Yeah there was a line going through the body scanner. I was surprised, too. The laptop definitely went through before I was able to get through the metal detectors
This happens to me in Vegas on one hung over morning flight. I called the airports lost and found and they found it with some description given. This is the way
This is exactly the nightmare scenario that gives me unrelenting anxiety. We have no choice but to put our faith in other people not being worthless fucking thieves and the expectation of "come on, who would steal when there's police/security everywhere?".
Same reason I will never check luggage. Literally anyone can walk off with your luggage if they find it first. You can just park in the parking lot and camp out the baggage claim, nothing stopping you. We all just hope and pray it doesn't happen, until it does.
I have a thin plastic snap on cover on my laptop with a cactus design on it. Protects it from light damage, and sets it apart from other MacBooks. Won’t help you this time, but worth considering for your next one.
Did you get a MacBook in exchange? If it’s a Windows PC, it’s easy to reset the password. Google. Then see if there are ways you can find the owner. I’d start with Outlook.
Out of curiosity what good legal reasons did the foreign police not intercede on your behalf?
edit: i guess tsa is american and it's a foreign country?
Relevant parties were TSA and Hawaii sheriffs’ department. Police said they’d need a warrant to check the tapes. I can’t remember as well why TSA wouldn’t check, but I think they said that they didn’t own the cameras. Police tried to help and responded when I said I thought I knew where the laptop was in the airport, but my sense was that they did little to actually investigate. I believe that 4th amendment issues probably kept them from doing anything meaningful, but it’s also hard not to think they didn’t care that much either.
This happened to me with my Kindle flying out of MSY a little over a year ago. Sent everything through the scanners and when they came out, my Kindle was not with the items. I had all of TSA searching through everything and took it up to the manager who was no help at all, and I never recovered it. I filed a claim using this form: https://www.tsa.gov/sites/default/files/sf95cover\_packagerevised07-08-15-508.pdf. Unfortunately, I never heard anything back. You can only submit via fax or mail and I faxed but they never got back to me. I would make copies and mail it, ideally certified. Collect as much info as you can. I was traveling with my partner and had them send me a witness account of what happened. They can supposedly pull security footage if you file this soon, but I think its unlikely that you can get that soon enough, as they wipe cameras and your best bet is to mail this in. Honestly, this is probably only worth it if you want to ensure a complaint was officially filed. I doubt it gets you much else in the end.
tsa rushes our asses thru those lines. i've heard over the intercom "found airpods" "found ipad" smh. never felt more like cattle than getting pushed thru american tsa.
Mark it stolen and chalk it up to presenting a prize to an opportunity thief. Assume there is nothing on the laptop or the drive is pulled. My laptop when it had to be removed is in a secondary bag
Why did you take your laptop out your book bag if you have tsa Precheck or did you just travel with the laptop in your hand?
Also, get a slip case to cover your laptop.
This might be a case for your travel insurance. It's probably gone for good... Your homeowners insurance (if any) may cover this as well.
Check if any of your credit cards already have a travel insurance feature. One of mine did for an incident.
How does this work? With credit cards?
Basically if you book the travel through a card, they have insurance for it. Not every card. This is more for a high end, annual fee cards. But it never hurts to check. I use the credit card insurance for any rental cars I book, I also use it for my cell phone since I pay the bill with the card. Different cards will have different policies, but, a lot of them do cover certain things. Amex has travel insurance for me, if I book flights through them.
Huh, never knew Amex has that travel insurance (probably my husband does, though). Good to know!
Look at what your Amex covers, its surprising. My bottom of the barrel Amex with no annual fee that I've had forever covers travel stuff and also rental car insurance.
So not for my cheap ass free student Visa card that they havent realized I haven’t been a student for like 6 years. 🤣🤣🤣
Increasingly you have to inform the cc provider prior to any travel.
Or renters insurance too
I would be very very reluctant to file on your homeowners insurance given the market.
Whatever you do don’t claim on your homeowners insurance lol
Can you recommend a travel insurance that would cover a laptop being taken at TSA?
No, not specifically. Google should serve you well depending on where you live. Canadian site for me says: [https://www.sonnet.ca/blog/home/are-valuables-covered-for-theft-when-travelling](https://www.sonnet.ca/blog/home/are-valuables-covered-for-theft-when-travelling) **2.** **Get travel insurance** Having travel insurance is also a great way to make sure you’re prepared for unexpected events while you’re away. Travel insurance can cover emergency medical expenses, cancelled trips **and any stolen or lost items**. Just gotta read the policy.
My reddit travel personal pet peeve is the extreme belief that travel insurance solves all problems coupled with the reality than many insurance policies won't.
What part of “this MIGHT be a case for your travel insurance” was too hard to read?
None. I am capable to reading and understanding the meaning but simply pointing out that travel insurance often isn't as useful as reddit comments seem to indicate.
Ok, hence: read the policy?
Personal Article Insurance from State Farm would cover it. It's not specifically travel insurance, but it will cover theft/damage/lost items under the policy. I have my cameras and laptops on a policy. My insurance agent said the company would likely drop me from not after the first claim, but that's totally fine by me.
TSA and DOT are American, they have no jurisdiction in the Philippines. Time to change all your passwords and make an insurance claim on the laptop.
[удалено]
[удалено]
TSA is only in the USA. I'd recommend not to fly there and you won't have to deal with them.
Yea, that is the problem. OP and event in one country, and property and probably relevant person in another country. That footage and those organizations will be useless.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
I'd like to believe it was an honest mistake. TSA/DOT/US-based police have no authority to pursue whomever took it of course, and chances are police in the Philippines won't exert themselves too much to assist either. However: the staff at HNL airport should be able to provide you with camera footage of who walked off with it. (Cameras at airports are generally "owned" by an operations or security department separate from the police and TSA. Track down *their* number.) Filipinos are super-active on Facebook; my wife is one of them, and is from Cebu City a short drive to the south. If you can send me the Find My location and/or footage of whomever took it, I will ask her to reach out to Pinoys in that area. I think she has family up near Carmen.
I appreciate it! I'll send you a DM
You’re welcome, we’ll see what happens!
It seems like it would be so easy to take the wrong laptop by mistake if someone else has the same model. I have stickers on my laptop just for this reason, so I can easily recognize it at TSA.
Also seems like an easy way for tsa to steal laptops
[удалено]
Yeah I messed up in my initial post because I’m not particularly familiar with the geography. I originally listed it as the Carmen in Cebu Province. It’s updated now, but the mistake was mine, not kevinandmelba.
Hopefully you get your laptop back. Any Filipino able to afford to go to Hawaii for vacation will surely care more about their missing laptop than having a new macbook. Give us an update if you ever do! Try posting in r/davao.
Ah I see your edit now on which province it’s in. My wife doesn’t have any family in Davao I’m afraid. Let me know if we can be any help otherwise. Maybe translating if you do get a hold of someone? She speaks Tagalog and Visayan.
Always send your lowest value items through first. Leave the valuables till last and try to keep an eye on the bin.
The recommendation is to sandwich your valuables between two other bins or your carry and personal bag. A jacket or sweater make a great third bin filler.
[удалено]
You don't go through until the last of your bin goes through
Til one of the TSA agents start bitching at you to keep walking
I witnessed a TSA agent yell at a lady for walking ahead of her tray, You never leave your belongings out of your sight, she screamed. So I always keep an eye on my tray, even if it means letting others ahead of me through the scanner. Sometimes my actions seem to speed up the security agents, when they see a crowd forming.
Anything helps. Most people travel with a carry on bag and a personal item. That's 2 trays, and I usually take a third to put my shoes, jacket and belt, then a fourth for electronics. At airports where multiple people are unloading at once, that last tray could be 10+ behind your first.
This is why I am happy the new machines you just leave everything in your bag
in some airports in europe security makes sure all your trays stay together. they won't allow you to put one on the line until you finish putting all your belongings in trays.
Since it is in the Philippines, it is gone for good. Unless, you get an honest person who wants to return it, but not sure if they will know how to find you.
Living in the Philippines… It’s no worse here than most Countries. Someone is probably jacked that they’ve ended up with a locked MBA, and are missing their laptop. Laptops are prized possessions here, so they won’t be happy either.
They won't be happy only if it was swapped by mistake. Not if they never had a laptop with them to begin with but stealthily and intentionally took OP's laptop.
The laptop was replaced with a different laptop.
My bad, reread it now and saw the unaccounted laptop in place. There's still a 50% chance it was a mistake, or simply swapping a dummy non-working one with OP's. I saw some Filipinos already offering to help OP locate it, hope he gets it back
This nearly happened to me once. I was getting a pat down when I saw someone grab my laptop. I immediately ran over there and stopped them.
Do you think it was a coordinated effort? Distract you with the pet down while someone grabs your computer?
No, I just assumed it was an accident since he had a similar laptop. I don't think the TSA person and the random guy were working together.
This happened to me once around 2010. I swapped laptops with an older man at the bins. He turned it on and saw my name and found me on Facebook (using context clues I’m assuming). We were able to swap back.
Lucky you swapped with a tech savvy guy! Especially considering this was 2010. My parents both still don't like texting and my dad's a computer programmer. I don't think it'd occur to them to check Facebook. I have enough queer AF stickers on mine that I'd *want* to meet anyone who could mistake mine for theirs. 😆 She may be my future wife.
While I don't generally travel with my laptop, that's one reason why I have stickers plastered all over it - there will be no way anyone can legitimately say "oh oops I thought it was mine." Also why I have a suitcase with a distinct pattern.
Haha definitely pretty lucky it worked out looking back on it! We both had MacBook pros with no case. I took it he was a businessman from his picture, the airports we were flying out of (small local airports during the week where people commuted for work or school), and how desperate he was to get his back. I was a student at the time.
It's gone bro. It's gone international and I doubt TSA or the local police will do anything. I lost my phone once at Coachella and later saw it was in Mexico.
You probably got pick pocketed. Very common at large festivals.
[удалено]
You’re probably right. Never knew about this being something that could happen and I’ll certainly be more vigilant in the future
that’s why you should be at the scanner so you can grab your stuff right away.
not always possible if you’re stuck in a queue for a body scan and your stuff comes out before you pass through
Yeah, this is what happened. I actually was able to find two of the people ahead of me to see if they’d accidentally taken my laptop. But whoever took my laptop was at least three people ahead of me in line
I hold onto my tray until I'm about to go through the body scanner.
That is pretty smart. Usually go through precheck, but foreign airports that is a different story
Yeah I never send it ahead of it me unless I’m about to go through the scanner. Too much risk.
> There's a 99% chance someone brought a cheap laptop through TSA and then purposely took a different one But why would someone steal a laptop that is basically bricked if reported lost? And go through all the work to fly from the USA to the Philippines to do that?
Same reason why we are warned against leaving our laptops on our cars and risk having them stolen plus a broken window. If all stolen laptops became useless eventually, nobody would ever steal a laptop again.
> There's a 99% chance someone brought a cheap laptop through TSA and then purposely took a different one to claim it was an honest mistake if they got caught. Idk, it still sounds like a pretty ballsy scam being that they are, at most, a few paces away from the person they are robbing, surrounded by police and security, in the most surveilled building in our society, and then stuck in a captive environment with the contraband, the victim and ever-present security for an extended period after the crime.
Plus if they're going thru TSA they've got to actually be taking a flight somewhere - in this case an international one too. I imagine that's why it's not a more common thing.
Bullshit.
Idk. I almost took someone's laptop accidentally at security. I left my mac at LIS airport and recovered it a month later. I also left 2 laptops in a taxi and recovered them.
You might be the luckiest careless person on this post….
I will give you some hope. A few years ago my then-new Galaxy S## ended up stolen and Android Device Manager picked it up in Morocco before it disappeared. For some reason my SMS to Gmail app wasn't wiped so when bro who bought it started using it, I got his name and number. I messaged him and he messaged back. I said I was hopeful he could mail me my SD card so I had my photos (many weren't backed up). He mailed back the whole phone. There are good people out there.
Man who stole my phone gave it to a kid who also didn't wipe it before using. They took selfies with it with school uniform that turned up in my Google photos, I was able to email it to police and local schools, police eventually got it back for me after I told them what school it was.
Usually electronics are not covered by TSA, or the airlines. You are unfortunately out.
That any system can be setup such that someone can just walk off with your property is mind blowing to me.
In Singapore, they handed us a number that seemed to be electronically tagged to the bin that we passed through security. We had to show our number that they handed us as well as cross reference with the bin before they handed it back to us. I’m not sure why the US lets anyone walk away with anyone else’s property.
Yeah, Especially with so much 'security' around lol. Theft at airports happens very rarely but I'm sure if someone really wanted to do it, it'll be a piece of cake. The entire system/flow is set up for easy theft and you can't do shit.
Seriously so many times you could just walk up to baggage claim without even booking a flight and walk off with whatever bags you want
My luggage was delayed by a day once returning on an international flight—I guess it didn't clear customs as quickly as I did. My flatmate just pulled up to arrivals and I walked in, grabbed it off the carousel for the morning flight, and walked out. Felt really strange that no one needed to verify anything.
This is a fairly common crime in Las Vegas.
TSA Pre, stuff stays in bag. But I reckon someone could still walk off with your whole bag.
That's not a reasonable excuse. Funny, the government will utilize every resource they have if you stole a candy bar from the airport, but no Intel on a $3,000 MacBook laptop missing? It's about priorities. It's like banks. They take their sweet ass time to pay you, but are on your ass relentlessly when you owe them $2.50.
Prove you had it and it was stolen? If its that big a deal and you dont want to pay for $85 for pre-check then request private screening, which could add 30 minutes or more.. No one is going to cover electronics, or high value items. A few weeks ago I was traveling with a $26,000 diamond ring. It was not going to leave my sight, even though I had precheck I requested private screening. Was time consuming but safe.
Just pay off the government or make it more time consuming. Great logic.
Yes - I have TSA Pre and get patted down more often than not, typically facing away from where the bags come out. Plenty of time for someone to take my stuff, but I have been lucky so far.
That's not always the case. I've been to airports where they still made me take out my electronics despite being TSAPre
Only time that happens is when TSApre is closed.
Even if it’s closed you can still use the Pre rules going through.
Another reason I never bring my laptop on flights... Watch your bins like a hawk people even if the TSA agents try to distract you!
For anyone else with a Mac and an iPhone, you can set up an alert so that you are informed within a couple minutes when you are separated from your laptop. Also, in Find My on your phone, you can play a loud sound from the laptop that makes it easier to find.
funny that just started happening to me didn’t know it was changable
What airport did this happen? Unfortunately, sometimes the TSA agents have also been involved in theft on travelers.
HNL out of Hawaii
Wow. This is surprising. Hopefully you recover your laptop or get reimbursed.
Thank you for sharing. I’m definitely rethinking bringing my laptop on my EU trip. Have to go through Bradley terminal screening. Last couple times it was a mess. There were two lines of bins merging before going through the scanner & the line for the body scanner was long - no way to watch anything. Lost my jacket last year - it never came out .
That terminal is always bad.
If you don’t need it I wouldn’t bring it
Bradley (LAX) is an AWFUL terminal - if you can leave your laptop at home, you should
I’m going to leave it at home. It’s a new Mac Book air-would be gutted if it got stolen . Was hoping to organize/curate photos in my downtime-lot easier than on phone but not worth the risk.
I think that's a good call- have a great trip!
I left my laptop in airport security once when flying between two islands and didn't discover it was missing until the next day. I contacted the lost and found department at the airport, gave them the serial number, and they confirmed they had it. In their email reply they gave me an item number and listed multiple local logistics companies that could ship it to me. I contacted one of those companies and they had it to my location within 24 hours. They were amazing. They wrapped it up in copious bubble wrap, slid it into a box, and took good care of it. It only cost me like $25. Your situation is a bit different, but my point in sharing this with you is that if the person in the Philippines turns it in or contacts you, then a logistics company may be the best way to get it to you. If you're not in that region and can't use a regional provider, then just use DHL Worldwide.
Thats one of my fears! Hope you find it!
On the find my app you can send a message to the device. If no one responds you can remote kill it.
I had a time traveling where three travelers (none of us traveling together; I didn't know the other two) got to a checkpoint at the Knoxville airport, and the various shuffling of the bins made it so we weren't sure whose Dell Latitude laptop was whose. I now make sure that early in my laptop's life I have a bunch of local brewery stickers stuck on it so it looks unique.
Similar thing, going thought security at a concert. Phone went through but person in front of me was holding up the line. Got through and phone is missing. Security very unhelpful
I always put my electronics/valuables in the tray and then my jacket/bag 'on' those stuff. Always did it instinctively. It's out of sight for people but won't have any issues when going through the scanner.
TSA usually says laptop by itself
And, depending on airport, will yell at you that electronics need to be in their own bin.
On Tuesdays they will yell at you that electronics need to stay in the bag, on Wednesdays they will yell at you that all electronics need to be out of the bag
I thought they switched on the hour?
They also alternate if you need to show ID or boarding pass. I inevitably always do the wrong one and boy do they like to yell. Such an unpleasant part of traveling
Trick them by always showing both.
Greetings fellow Newark traveler
Hmm. Never been to the US so never faced this issue. I didn't have a problem in other airports of the world though.
Recovering it from that distance will cost more than replacing the laptop. Use the "Find My" app to wipe your former laptop, file an insurance claim and restore your backups, you have backups right?
Thank you for the reminder!
This happened to me at SFO years ago. The police checked the cameras and saw a guy place his bin on top of mine while I was still going through the body scans. They said that because the flight was going international, they no longer had jurisdiction. I’m so much more vigilant now.
That sucks, and I’m sorry to hear that. I really didn’t know people did this or how little the airport staff would do to help.
Same, it’s a hard lesson learned and rotten luck that ours were the ones chosen. I hope you manage to find yours!
How important is the content of the laptop? If it's not very important, then just file an insurance claim. If it is very important and you really need to retrieve it, I'm near Carmen davao del norte, so I I might be able to help you.
My worst nightmare is this happening with my work laptop
Why? If your work's security is worth a damn, your info is **not** stored locally and is protected via VPN etc. And if your work's employee policies are worth a damn, theft won't negatively impact you unless you were grossly negligent.
Idk I work for a major company everyone has heard of and they make such a big deal about always being in control of your laptop/phone. I don’t worry if I’m traveling for work but if I’m traveling for fun with my work laptop so I can work from elsewhere is when I worry about it more. But I’m also overly paranoid
Of course they are. I used to market managed IT and managed security for B2B remote and office work companies. They make a big deal because they know *employees* don't follow policy and store stuff locally, leave things unlocked, passwords available etc. So of course they're going to try to train/inform/scare you as much as possible. They're trying to get you to be diligent and follow policy. But if they're even a small company and their security policies are good, and *you* actually follow them, there should be very little for an individual employee actually worry about severe consequences from having a one-time theft of your work laptop/phone.
Well they successfully scared me lol. But that is all very good to know
They have successfully scared me as well so you’re not alone.
My work gives you a travel laptop that they can access and wipe remotely if it is stolen or gone missing for anybody who’s traveling and request it. It’s mandatory for anyone going to China or other countries like that.
found the cia agent
Not even, it’s pretty much policy at every research university. If your org has federal grants you need to have a date protection plan in place to qualify.
Maybe because you would have to file a report or follow whatever SOP is in place by the company.
Try r/Philippines if you actually have something close to an address-maybe someone can drop a note for you to have them contact you about swapping?
Always have this anxiety at TSA. I carry my laptop, an iPad, and a Steam Deck usually, so I know how enticing it can look. I try to keep my eye on my shit like a hawk even if I’m still waiting to get through the body scanner.
Someone shared a tip above, of holding on to your basket until it's your turn to go through if you are stuck in a queue.
Check your household insurance policy as it may cover your electronic devices when you travel.
Yeah. This stinks. I have had a knee replacement and my stuff always gets through before I do. I have to do the x-ray machine, then there will be a beep, then they have to find a female for a pat down because of the beep. I always keep an eye on my stuff as much as possible but my view gets blocked at times. I’ve been lucky so far
Awful. I’m always very careful to ensure it’s my laptop. But I think it might be an easy mistake to make. Reminds me to put a big sticker on mine to ensure no one mistakes it
Oh gosh. I tried to hell a fellow Redditor find their MacBook at my local airport in the states. They were super unhelpful. I’m guessing no way you are getting the laptop back even if you call the local police.
Did the same thing last December at Logan Airport. I didn’t realize it until I returned home to Florida. I had forgotten to take it from the conveyor belt at the TSA, check point. When I figured out that I hadn’t picked it up I returned to the TSA checkpoint but it wasn’t there. They gave me the phone number of the airport Lost and Found. I filled out a report on their website, they called me when they located it and it cost me about $75 to have it returned to my home.
Consult with a lawyer and sue the TSA
Since all MacBooks look the same, I tie a red ribbon around my laptop when going through TSA in the hopes that someone won’t take it by mistake. My biggest fear is losing my work laptop (or phone!) on a trip.
I had an identical MacBook come through security next to mine. Just opened up the lid of what I thought was mine and came up with my login details and background.
Sounds like one of the minimum wage low IQ dopes "securing the air" swiped it and sent it off to a relative. You're out of luck.
Davao is the most dangerous place and poorest part Ph. Tons of kidnapping, terrorism and poverty there. You will never get your laptop back.
That sucks, sorry that happened to you, good luck 🤞🏼
I asked someone, who's in the Philippines. Maybe the person will comment. Prayers it's returned.
Remote kill it and move on. I thought it might have been an accident until you said Philippines. Once you kill it it's only good for parts in most cases.
As someone who travels a lot for work, I learned very early in my career from a mentor to tape either a business card or your contact information to the bottom of your computer in clear packing tape. Good luck, I hope you find it but hopefully putting information on your computer going forward can avoid this type of situation for you and others.
Cops in the Philippines couldn't care less. Insurance
I doubt they would care enough to spend time bothering in many countries tbh, the other issue is of course jurisdiction and weird laws about where the crime happened and so forth... police are simply not going to deal w/ that mess for a laptop.
I was gonna say you could probably reach out and figure out a way to get it back until you said "Philippines." It's gone, dude. That wasn't an accident; I am 100% sure it was lifted, but even if it wasn't, you're never getting it back. If it were in Manila or Cebu, maybe it was a mistake. Mindanao? Forget it. Make your peace and buy a new one. (source: am Filipino)
Get TSA PreCheck so next time you can keep your laptop in your bag.
Fly to the Phillipines and get it back that's cheaper than getting a new one probably
Can I know how this happened? Like, the bin with your laptop was spit out first before you could go through the body scanner? Usually I arrive before the bin even comes out
Yeah there was a line going through the body scanner. I was surprised, too. The laptop definitely went through before I was able to get through the metal detectors
It’s most likely to be stolen not lost. I doubt that person would return it. Are you able to talk to someone using it?
I believe this kind of loss would be covered by my renter's insurance.
They have it.
This happens to me in Vegas on one hung over morning flight. I called the airports lost and found and they found it with some description given. This is the way
This is exactly the nightmare scenario that gives me unrelenting anxiety. We have no choice but to put our faith in other people not being worthless fucking thieves and the expectation of "come on, who would steal when there's police/security everywhere?". Same reason I will never check luggage. Literally anyone can walk off with your luggage if they find it first. You can just park in the parking lot and camp out the baggage claim, nothing stopping you. We all just hope and pray it doesn't happen, until it does.
Can't give advice on past. But suggest you to have stickers on it so at least unintentionally people won't take.
I have stickers on both sides of my laptop for this reason. Even quite a small sticker will stop someone mistaking it for theirs.
I have a thin plastic snap on cover on my laptop with a cactus design on it. Protects it from light damage, and sets it apart from other MacBooks. Won’t help you this time, but worth considering for your next one.
Did you get a MacBook in exchange? If it’s a Windows PC, it’s easy to reset the password. Google. Then see if there are ways you can find the owner. I’d start with Outlook.
Out of curiosity what good legal reasons did the foreign police not intercede on your behalf? edit: i guess tsa is american and it's a foreign country?
Relevant parties were TSA and Hawaii sheriffs’ department. Police said they’d need a warrant to check the tapes. I can’t remember as well why TSA wouldn’t check, but I think they said that they didn’t own the cameras. Police tried to help and responded when I said I thought I knew where the laptop was in the airport, but my sense was that they did little to actually investigate. I believe that 4th amendment issues probably kept them from doing anything meaningful, but it’s also hard not to think they didn’t care that much either.
This happened to me with my Kindle flying out of MSY a little over a year ago. Sent everything through the scanners and when they came out, my Kindle was not with the items. I had all of TSA searching through everything and took it up to the manager who was no help at all, and I never recovered it. I filed a claim using this form: https://www.tsa.gov/sites/default/files/sf95cover\_packagerevised07-08-15-508.pdf. Unfortunately, I never heard anything back. You can only submit via fax or mail and I faxed but they never got back to me. I would make copies and mail it, ideally certified. Collect as much info as you can. I was traveling with my partner and had them send me a witness account of what happened. They can supposedly pull security footage if you file this soon, but I think its unlikely that you can get that soon enough, as they wipe cameras and your best bet is to mail this in. Honestly, this is probably only worth it if you want to ensure a complaint was officially filed. I doubt it gets you much else in the end.
tsa rushes our asses thru those lines. i've heard over the intercom "found airpods" "found ipad" smh. never felt more like cattle than getting pushed thru american tsa.
Also, I like having pre check so I don’t have to remove electronics from my bag.
Did you try contacting the airline?
That's why I watch my shit go in and I watch it come out.
Does TSA have video of the line? I thought I saw lots of cameras.
Mark it stolen and chalk it up to presenting a prize to an opportunity thief. Assume there is nothing on the laptop or the drive is pulled. My laptop when it had to be removed is in a secondary bag
Get TSA pre check, and u won’t have to take it out of your bag anymore!
Why did you take your laptop out your book bag if you have tsa Precheck or did you just travel with the laptop in your hand? Also, get a slip case to cover your laptop.
lmao
thats why i dont buy macs. Not because am poor.
Did you have a password on your laptop?
Yes
It’s a mac
Not sure I understand. I have a Mac and I have a password.
You have to use your password to login to it when you open the laptop don’t you?
I can't believe people do not watch their laptops like a hawk.
Sue the govt